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Volume 6 Number 2 Article 2

4-15-1979

Heraldry In The Arthuriad: A Brief Survey

Antoinette H. Brenion

Ian Myles Slater

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Recommended Citation Brenion, Antoinette H. and Slater, Ian Myles (1979) "Heraldry In The Arthuriad: A Brief Survey," Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: Vol. 6 : No. 2 , Article 2. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol6/iss2/2

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Abstract Examines heraldic devices of Arthur and several of his , attempting to “give probable religious meanings of each.” Accompanied by a bibliographic note by Ian Myles Slater.

Additional Keywords Arthurian —Bibliography; Arthurian myth—Heraldry; Heraldry—Bibliography; Heraldry in Arthurian legend; Knights of —Heraldry; Valerie Protopapas

This article is available in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol6/iss2/2 H eraldry In The A rthuriad: A Brief Survey

by Antoinette H. Brenion

Among the varied strands in the Arthurian myth- which animal is depicted, the beasts may well be os is the visual one of devices by which the var­ lions with all their traditional symbolism: maj­ ious knights are recognized. The beasts and other esty, power, and kingship. symbols used on their shields indicate broadly the natures of the bearers, as well as suggesting fur­ ther symbolic meanings. In this paper I w ill try A crown is an obvious sign of royalty and sov­ to examine the devices of several of the knights ereignty. Heraldric crowns are basically gold and give probable religious meanings of each. circlets with patterns which represent the rank of the wearer. For a king, it is a plain gold band Heraldry has its own language, obscure to the with a floral motif gracing the decorative mould­ uninitiated; a brief overview of the basic terms ing. Two of Arthur's shields show crowns: one is and principles may be useful to some readers. red with three golden crowns, and the other is blue with thirteen golden crowns arranged in a pat­ The principal part of a coat of arms is the tern of 4, 4, 4, and 1. Thus King Arthur's shield. Some also include supporters (two figures shields symbolize, as would be expected, the pow­ holding the shield), helmet, crest, and the like (as er and majesty of his high station. in our own Mythopoeic coat of arms); but these are not relevant to the Arthurian mythos, which took One unexpected shield for Arthur is black with its rise in times when sim plicity was essential; a golden sycamore torn from the ground, its roots an armored 's shield had to bear an easily exposed. Perhaps this represents Arthur when he recognizable device so that one could tell friend was in hiding before he ascended to the throne: a from foe in battle. man ignorant of and torn from his true ancestry.

The field or ground of the shield is one of Often associated with the Arthurian mythos is three kinds: a colour, a fur or a metal. The col­ Sir Tristram (or Tristran, or ), who, accord­ ors are five: blue (azure), red (gules), green ing to the oft-told story, drank a love-potion with (vert), black (sable), and purple (purpure). The (Ysolt, Isolde) of Ireland while escorting metals are gold (or) and silver (argent). Of the her to to marry his uncle, King Mark, (for furs, the two principal ones are ermine and vair. whom the potion was intended). Most of the versions Ermine skin is white with a black tip to its derived from the early Anglo-Norman Tristan romance tail; the heraldric ermine is a white background by (c.1160-1180) assign the hero with black eyelashes scattered over it. Vair is a a golden lion, with some differences over the color squirrel-skin of blue-grey with a white under­ of the field. , who based belly; it is conventionalized by inverted church- h is German v e r s io n ( c .1 2 1 0 ) on Thomas 's French te x t bell shapes of white on blue. (which is now extant only in fragments) replaced the lion with a boar, which fits some dream-symbolism The field is "charged," i.e. has a figure or which he incorporated in his version. The late Roger design on it. About twenty charges that appear Sherman Loomis suggested that Tristan's arms were in­ frequently, mostly abstract patterns, are called tended to compliment Thomas's king, Henry II of "ordinaries." These include the "chief," a horiz­ . The lion was used in the arms attributed ontal division of the shield such that the top to Geoffrey of Anjou, Henry's father, and they were third is a contrasting kind; the fess, a wide hor­ certainly used Dy one of Henry's sons, Richard I izontal band taking up the middle third of the (Lion-Heart), but the date of their actual adoption shield; the bar, a diminutive of the fess, which is obscure. can appear in any part of the shield; the canton, a small square, one-third of a chief, in the upper In his commentary on the tiles illustrating left corner ("dexter" or right from the shield- Thomas's version, found in the ruins of Chertsey bearer's point of view); the quarter, which is just Abbey, Loomis pointed out that the Lion rampant (a what it sounds like, upper dexter. No metal may rampant beast stands on the left hind paw, its be placed on metal, or fur on fur, or color on body inclined upward about forty-five degrees, the c o lo r . right hind paw raised from the ground, the fore limbs Greatest of the knights is of course King Ar­ clawing the air in front of the head, and the tail thur, and the first one mentioned with a figure on lifted high and flexed) appears facing in different his shield in the early accounts. In Geoffrey of directions, depending on whether Tristan is receiving Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae , A rth u r's or striking a b lo w .' The balance of the evidence shield shows the Virgin M ary,"...a circular shield suggests strongly that Tristan's lion was the Lion called , on which there was painted a like­ of Anjou, linking him to the English royal dynasty ness of the Blessed Mary, Mother of God, which established by Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, forced him to be thinking( Historia, perpetually of her." but th a t i t c o u ld a ls o be c o n sid e r e d a common p erso n ­ p. 217) Another shield attributed to al symbol. As an example of the complexities in Arthur has a red ground with three golden leo­ the romance tradition, the Italian collection T a vo la pards arranged in a horizontal row. This is simi­ R i t o n d a , which otherwise follows Thomas's Tristan lar to the arms of England, with its three golden story closely, explicitly denies that Tristan used lions on a red ground. However, since it is diff­ a Lion, and assigns him other arms entirely, of un­ icult in the early drawings to determine exactly known origin or significance. 7 One of the most renowned of the Arthurian Another shield for Sir is very similar knights is Sir , whose tragic love for Queen to Sir 's third shield, with the main differ­ led to the destruction of the , ence being the eagle's claws and tongue. It is a the final battle and the end of the kingdom. He is purple shield with a golden double-headed eagle, often depicted as the best of the knights. Sir but the eagle's claws and beak, as well as a circle Lancelot too uses a heraldric lion; one of his around each eye, are red. It is charged over all shields is black with a rampant silver lion in the with a green bar. The bar makes it distinctive center. Again, we have an indicator of his person­ since the claws, beak and eyes are not visible at a al courage and of his vassalage to Arthur._ Another d is t a n c e . shield is silver with three diagonal red lines, which may, as in many such, represent the Trinity. The vivid contrast of red and white suggests the passionate devotion and heroic courage associated with Sir Lancelot. In the Vulgate and related versions, Sir Gala- had is the son of Sir Lancelot. His shield uses the same colors; the ground is silver, and either there is no charge or the charge is a red cross. But clearly the colors here carry quite a different meaning; the cross means sacrifice and atonement, and the silver suggests the purity inseparable from the name of .

Another knight of wide fame is Sir Gawain, a nephew of King Arthur and (in most sources) son of Queen , Arthur's half sister, and of . He is frequently depicted as the great example of knightly courtesy. One of the shields he bears is silver with a red quarter, the colors, as with Sir Lancelot, of devotion and courage. Some of Sir Gawain's other shields use eagles. One of them is the arms attributed to Judas Maccabaeus, One of the earliest knights is , foster in the medieval tradition of the Nine Worthies, a brother to King Arthur. When Arthur became king he red background with a golden eagle probably dis­ made Kay his seneschal, arranging and commanding played (i.e., its wings outspread.) The eagle is a banquets, and responsible for the safety of the cas­ symbol of kingship and dominion. It may be attrib­ tle. One of Sir Kay's shields shows a blue back­ uted to Sir Gawain to show that he is akin to Judas ground with two silver keys, perhaps crossed in an Maccabaeus, or perhaps to show descent. X-shape. These clearly symbolize the responsibil­ ity of guarding the castle and all its stores for Sir Gawain has another shield charged with a h is lo r d . golden eagle, but on a purple ground. This is a double-headed eagle, fully displayed, with silver Some o f th e k n ig h ts who do n o t have h ig h p la c e s beak and claws. In contrast to the power and maj­ in the mythos nonetheless have very interesting de­ esty of this bird, his brother Sir has a signs. Sir Sagremore is one such. Those who saw silver shield seeded with red eaglets, evidencing Cam el o t by Lerner and Loewe may recall the words his lesser stature, "Oh, there goes the black and crimson of his shield" when he fights Sir Lancelot. His shield is de­ A third brother, Sir Agravain, uses the same scribed as red with three golden eight-pointed mul­ colors as Sir Gareth (and Sir Gawain), but different lets (stars), and on a silver canton over all is a devices: a rampant red lion and a peacock's tail seven-pointed black mullet. The canton hides one (color not given) on a silver ground. The lion ind­ of the eight-pointed mullets. An alternate version icates vassalage to King Arthur while the colors has each mullet as five-pointed while another ver­ show his family relationship. Thus he combines his sion gives the field as black. Eight-pointed stars status in family and court with his own individual are called Stars of Regeneration because eight sym­ image, a peacock ta il, perhaps symbolizing pride. bolizes rebirth. Following the divine octave of creation comes the eighth day, a renewal of the first day; it is the day of Resurrection, of new light and new creation. There may also be an allu­ sion to the eight persons saved in the ark. The seven-pointed star reflects the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, while the five-pointed star symbolizes guidance, merit, and protection. The reason for the change of field to black is unknown. However, silver ink gradually changes to blue and perhaps a very dark blue finally appears black. Sir Yvain has at least three shields, all guite different; it is possible that each Sir Yvain is a different man. The first shield is blue with a golden lion having a red tongue and claws and a forked tail arranged in an X-shape; recall that this is the same device as Sir Tristram's, with a difference. The second shield is very plain, silver with a gold band running down the center. Here we have, of course, a violation of the rule no-metal-on-metal. The shield may have predated the rule, for it appears often in very old shields. The two metals represent majesty and purity, per­ haps meant to apply to the character of Sir Yvain. The third shield is very ornate. It is gold with two red bars running across the shield horizont­ ally. Each bar is composed of two circles joined 8 scholars in the field, Arthurian L iteratu re. i n t h e M iddle Ages, edited by the late Roger Sherman Loomis (Oxford, 1959). Discussions often center on unus­ ual coats of arms, such as Gawain's pentangle star in Sir Gawain and the , when they occur at a ll, rather than on examples of obedience to the laws of the Heraldic Art.

One possible reason for this situation is the chronological fact that the great flowering of Ar­ thurian romance in the later twelfth and earlier thirteenth centuries was during the infancy of sys­ tematic heraldry, which makes it difficult to reach solid, supportabne conclusions about the signific­ ance of literary descriptions. In addition, such major figures as Lancelot sometimes change shields, and arms, in the course of a story, as a disguise or to commemorate some event.

On the other hand, Arthurian literature, ro­ mances and pseudo-histories alike, provided oppor­ tunities for propaganda employing contemporary coats of arms, or recognizable variants of them, and Her­ alds themselves were not slow to manufacture an em­ inent past for themselves. Between the efforts of romance-mongers and pseudo-historians, and the in­ dustry of imaginative heraldic writers, the heroes of classical antiquity as well as those of the Ar­ thurian and Carolingian cycles were provided with appropriate arms—even if not two writers might by links; the upper bar has an eagle and a lion while in the lower one they are reversed. Sir agree on what they were. Interesting examples of Yvain is known as "The Knight of the Lion" and is this process may be found in the collection Th e accompanied by a lion in the Romance of Yvain. Story of T roilus: as told by B enoit de Perhaps this shield is intended to show kingship S a i n t e - M aure, G iovanni B occacio, G eoffrey over a ll animals and birds since the lion rules C haucer,ert Henryson, translatedand R ob- with an introduction by R. one and the eagle the other. K . Gordon (J.M. Dent & Sons, London, 1934; paper­ back edition, E.P. Dutton & Co., New York, 1964). Sir , a nephew of Sir Lancelot, has one shield that is ermine with three diagonal red In the later Middle Ages and the Renaissance lines. We have seen that this symbol may repre­ these arms were somewhat standardized, and they sent the Trinity. The charge is the same as one of provided painters and pageant directors with an Sir Lancelot’s but the ground is different. The easy way of labelling such figures as the Nine Wor­ device used indicates a kinship since relatives thies, the legendary Trojan Kings of the Franks and often use similar devices or the same colors. the Britons, the Twelve Peers of France, etc. In some cases, an attempt was made to harmonize con­ In Tennyson's , Sir Bors is flicting accounts. King Arthur was assigned a pic­ recognized by "that pelican on the casque" (hel­ ture of the Virgin Mary on his shield in the well- met). The pelican, a symbol of sacrifice, is trad­ known and 'authoritative1 H istory of the Kings of itionally shown wounding itself to feed its young. B r i t a i n , by G eo ffrey o f Monmouth (tr a n s la te d by Sir Bors is presenting himself as atoning for his Lewis Thorpe, Penguin Books, 1966, 1973), but other past deeds. It is especially appropriate since Bors writers and artists gave the king three crowns vowed a for the (another symbol of (England, Scotland, and ?) instead. At least sacrifice) after seeing it in King Arthur's hall. one artist 'split the difference', putting a Madon­ na on one half of the shield and the crowns on the In sum: Lions are frequently seen in Arthurian other. About 1480, Peter Visscher of Innsbruck shields, perhaps because of the majesty and power avoided this issue by giving Arthur the Lions and associated with the beast as well as its links to Lilies then in official English use in a series of King Arthur and England, and to the house of Anjou. statues of the Nine Worthies for the Hofkirche. Eagles are common because of their power and majes­ ty in flight. A double-headed eagle is able to The principle technical discussion of the ear­ look in both directions at once and thus can sym­ ly Heraldic contributions to this area is the book bolize an ever-vigilant man. Stars serve as remind­ E a r l y Blazon: H eraldric Term inology in ers of the heavens, the varying numbers of points the Tw elfth and Thirteenth C enturies w ith all having different meanings. Each device used Special R eferenceArthurian Literature, toby Gerald J. Brault (Oxford, can have many meanings including hidden personal 1972), based on medieval texts, with three plates. o n e s . For basic investigation of visual representations of Arthurian coats of arms in their literary and cultural contexts, however, the essential book is s t i l l Arthurian Legends in M edieval Art, by Roger Sherman Loomis and Laura Hibbard Loomis (The Modern Language Association, New York, 1938). This is al­ most literally a monument of scholarship (it is a Bibliographic Note coffee-table size volume), with an excellent com­ mentary in addition to a super-abundance of plates, showing statues, reliefs, tapestries, murals, etc., by Ian Myles Slater in addition to manuscript illuminations (and early woodcuts). Unfortunately, all are in black and Heraldry is not one of the most prominent top­ white, which makes heraldic research difficult, al­ ics in the modern study of "The ." though details on color are often supplied by the It is not, for example, given any extensive treat­ accompanying text. ment in the great collaborative history by leading (Cont'd on. p. 38) 9 the dead, although never once entering their actual realm. The epic theme of n o s t o s , (a h e r o 's r e tu rn ) i s common This method is called necromancy. , however, to both the A e n e id and LOTR. The Returns, a poem in the journeys into the actual realm of the dead, the underworld, epic cycle attributed to Homer, describes the returns of and converses with the dead in their own environment. the Achaean heroes from to a dangerous situation This Vergilian n e k y i a i s known a s a k a t a b a s i s and more from which the hero is never fully able to recover. closely resembles the n e k y i a of Aragorn, who, like Aeneas, Odysseus, Diomedes, and Agamemnon, the greatest three confronts the dead in their own environment. surviving Achaeans, meet with treachery, exile, and death upon their respective homecomings. Only Odysseus Aeneas and Aragorn are both aided in their by is able to regain even a fracture of his old stature. the lord of a river. In Book VII of the A e n e id , F ather Aeneas and Aragorn, in contrast to the dethroned Achaeans, Tiber, god of the Tiber River, visits Aeneas and advises successfully return to recapture their ancient kingdoms. him on b a t t l e s t r a t e g i e s . Elrond a id s Aragorn by comman­ In both Vergil and Tolkien the hero does not enjoy a total ding the water at the Ford of Bruinen to rise and halt the victory as he wins his kingdom only through the deaths of advancing Ringwraiths. many good men, yet he stands alone as the most powerful ruler in his world. The Battle at the Ford of Bruinen resembles the Homeric mache parapotamois , a battle about a river. In Book XXI of the I l i a d Achilles fights the Trojans on the In conclusion, one can demonstrate the existence of banks of the river Skamandros, which, provoked by the both Homeric and Vergilian motifs in LOTR. A closer look, carnage, rises to engulf the warlike hero. The river in however, reveals that the characters and events in LOTR th e I l i a d , however, fights against the hero, while in both more closely resemhle those events in the A e n e id than th o se th e A e n e a d and LOTR the river assists the hero, and I of the Homeric epics. From this comparison it is evident therefore feel that the river motif in LDTR i s more a th a t a lth o u g h th e in f lu e n c e o f Homer on The Lord of the Vergilian than Homeric influence. R in g s cannot be denied, the influence of Vergil's A e n e id is clearly the stronger. The A e n e id and LOTR share a similar format. Both involve first a hero's journey home and then a battle to regain a promised kingdom. Hence, the famed Odyssean- 1 P au l H. K ocher, Master of Middle Earth, (Houghton Iliadic structure of the A e n e id also appears in LOTR. M ifflin Co., Boston, 1972), p. 130

The cities associated with each hero have a common 2 I b i d . , p . 147 numerical feature. Seven circles make up Minas Tirith, the capital of Gondor, while Rome, capital of Italy, 3 J . R. R. T o lk ie n , The Fellowship o f the Ring, stands upon seven h ills. (Houghton M ifflin Co., Boston, 1965), p. 259

Cont'd from page 9 Many illustrated books on the Arthurian legend an actual, if long-range, debate over the hero s coat contain at least a few color reproductions of works of of arms, which has been echoed by modern scholars analy­ art assembled by the Loomises, in addition to those in zing the romances. The best brief account of these black and white. One of the more useful, and beautiful, problems is to be found in A. T. Hatto's of these books is Richard Barber*s King Arthur in of Gottfried von Strassburg's Tristan: With the Legend and History (Cardinal paperback edition, Sphere "Tristan" o f Thomas of Britain (1966, revised printing, Books Ltd., London, 1973), with thirty colour and thirty 1967) , Appendix 3, "Tristan's Angevin Escutcheon". black and white plates, many with more than one medieval This is a reply to the suggestions of Roger Sherman or modern illustration. Barber's King Arthur is (or was) Loomis on the subject, found in the afore-mentioned available in paperback at a comparitavely low price Arthurian Legends in Medieval Art and reprinted in a (U.K. E 1.00), given the many illustrations. Besides much more accessible volume, now available in paperback; the selection of medieval and modern art, the book con­ The Romance o f Tristram and Ysolt, by Thomas of Britain; tains a fairly detailed, if somewhat dogmatic, text, a Translated from the and Old Norse by Roger chronological list of major (and some minor) Arthurian Sherman Loomis. (First published by E. P. Dutton & literature from c. 550 to 1958, and an annotated select Co., 1923; Columbia University Press, 1931, revised edi­ bibliography (which characterizes those who disagree tion 1951; Dutton paperback of New Revised Edition, with him as "not very convincing", which from his point 1 9 6 7 ). of view is undoubtedly tru e....) Here one may see Agravain*s double-headed eagle in black and white, and Loomis' rendering, in archaizing English, is based some of the shields carried by Lancelot, Gawain, and on the surviving Old French fragments of Thomas of Bri­ others, in color, chiefly as portrayed by artists of tain's version, filled in with the Old Norse translation the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. In this case, attributed to one "Brother Robert", as compared to the as in others, there is no guarantee that the color prin­ Middle English, German, and Italian retellings for some ting is absolutely faithful to the originals. (Barber*s details. This edition also includes twenty-three of the book is an expansion of his earlier Arthur of Albion , best-preserved of the thirty-five known Chertsey Abbey 1961, 1971, which does n o t have this lavish visual T iles, discovered in the ruins about ten miles from "apparatus", and it should not be confused with his Windsor Castle in 1885 and 1922, and apparently dating Figure of Arthur , 1972, which attempts to locate the his­ from about 1215. There is a 12-page commentary excerpted torical Arthur in what is now Scotland.) from th e Arthurian Legends volume included (besides the interesting, but not entirely reliable, introduction). Some of the by-ways of the Arthurian Legend seem more heraldically productive than others. The Quest of Most of these books include bibliographies or bib­ the Holy Grail , part of the "Vulgate Cycle" of Arthurian liographic notes. Those interested in pursuing further romances written in the first quarter of the thirteenth investigations should be aware of a major bibliographic century, for example, includes symbolic and allegorical resource, the annual Bibliographic Bulletin of the Inter­ shields which were not at all suitable for personal use. national Arthurian Society, which has appeared for over (Translated by P. M. Matarasso, Penguin C lassics, 1969; thirty years. Articles are grouped by country of an abridged version is incorporated in 's origin/language, and the indexing is usually extremely fifteenth-century Morte D'Arthur , now found in many good. In addition to the annotated bibliographies, e d i t io n s . there are usually several excellent articles or essays. The Tristan tradition, which is tangentially con­ Sets should be available in college and university nected to the Arthurian cycle, seems to have generated l i b r a r i e s .

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